The Gate terminal regasification plant, located in Maasvlakte (Rotterdam), has again contracted the services of SENER, one of the companies responsible for its turnkey construction in 2011. This time, Gate terminal has contracted SENER to provide the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services needed for maintenance and improvement activities, scheduled for next year.
Under this new contract, SENER will optimize the design to achieve more efficient operation and maintenance. Those modifications will improve the processes and optimize the times, as well as ensure the plant's uninterrupted operation over the next decade.
In the words of SENER's Project Manager, Antonio Parra, "this contract is a demonstration of Gate terminal's confidence in SENER's solid practices, as a company that played a key role in its successful construction; in this sense, I should note that the Gate terminal has been operating since 2011, the year it was commissioned, with results above expectations and with no interruptions or unexpected outages." He added: "After ten years of collecting operational data, we are going to make adjustments to the plant's configuration with a minimum impact on the service, which will improve its operating and maintenance processes for the next decade. We are proud to have been selected by Gate terminal for this work."
Gate terminal is a Joint Venture between N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie) and Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Vopak). It is one of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Europe, and the first of its kind built in the Netherlands. When operations began in 2011, it had three 180,000 m3 storage tanks and two jetties capable of simultaneously unloading two Q-Max vessels (the largest LNG vessels in the world). With exports totaling 12 BCMA (billion cubic meters per year), the terminal is able to meet one-third of the country's natural gas consumption. Today, it has a third jetty and three loading docks for trucks.
SENER was part of the TSEV (Techin-SENER-Entreprose-Vinci) consortium, the main contractor for the plant, which was responsible for the turnkey construction of the Gate terminal megaproject, completed in 2011. SENER, together with Techint, was responsible for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) and commissioning of the plant. Specifically, SENER was tasked with managing the plant’s implementation, the commissioning and the start-up, as well as for engineering activities. From the start of construction, special attention was paid to the safety, protecting the environment, operational availability and versatility. Construction ended with one of the best safety records ever reported for work performed at Europoort Rotterdam, boasting more than 2,500,000 work hours and no lost-time accidents.
Gate terminal was a success story, and the plant won several awards, including the "Best Project of the Year" award, presented in 2012 by the European Construction Institute (ECI), and the "Liquefied Natural Gas Project of the Year", which it received in January 2012 at the European Gas Conference Awards, presented by the organizers of this international event and the prestigious Natural Gas Europe publishing house.
Source: SENER